


Beyond The Wall

by MissErikaCourt



Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Inspired by Game of Thrones, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-24
Updated: 2015-02-24
Packaged: 2018-03-14 23:18:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3429182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissErikaCourt/pseuds/MissErikaCourt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Benjen Stark and his ranging party start their expedition beyond The Wall, but they may get more than they bargained for.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Beyond The Wall

Benjen looked back at the Wall from his place around his modest fire, 700 feet of ice and snow and magic shooting straight up toward the heavens. The Wall had been there for thousands of years, guarding the realms of men from the terrors beyond; direwolves, shadowcats, wildlings, and of course the Others.  
The Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, which is the brotherhood who has manned the Wall for as long as anyone can remember, had sent Benjen beyond the Wall one day past to find a separate ranging party that had gone missing. Besides the fact that no man in the Night's Watch can disobey the Lord Commander, Benjen was the First Ranger, and his duty was to go beyond the Wall, but he had an eerie feeling that he wouldn't be coming back this time.  
Benjen was only comforted slightly by the two other rangers in his party, one was a green boy, no older than fourteen with short auburn hair that he covered with a black leather hat lined with gray fur, his bright blue eyes seemed to shine in the dawn light. The other was an older man, with graying black hair that wore the standard black furs that all brothers of the Night's Watch wore, but he was no better with a sword than Benjen's three year-old nephew. They would have to do, though. He didn't expect that any of them would be coming back, anyway. The three men sat for only a few more minutes, watching the sun and the blue smoke from their fire rise into a pink dawn sky over the Wall in the distance, that was always one of Benjen's favorite things, but just now there was no time to admire the beauty of the world, not with so many terrors lurking in the wilderness.  
“Alright lads,” Benjen started in his thick Northern accent, “let's get the horses ready and be on our way.” The men trudged through the knee deep snow to their horses, Benjen was saddened by the fact that the three men would, more like than not, end up eating their mounts before the ranging was done. This was something that Benjen had done before, but he didn't think he would ever get used to it. People get attached to the animals they spend time with, and Benjen did love his horses.  
Benjen was just finishing with his saddle when the boy, whose name Benjen remembered to be Adam Tully, an unimportant member of the great house, came slinking over to his side, as if he were intimidated by the very image of the First Ranger of the Night's Watch. When Benjen thought of it that way, he could imagine why the boy may be scared.   
“Pardon me, Lord Stark.” The boy started, but Benjen interjected.  
“I'm no Lord, boy, did you pay no mind to your vows?”  
“No, my Lord, I mean, I only wanted to ask if you think this ranging is necessary. I just...with everything that's been happening, do we really expect the other two Rangers from before to be alive?” His blue eyes were cold as he stated his case, and Benjen couldn't deny that he had thought those very same thoughts the morning they left.   
“Lad, we all have our doubts, when the Lord Commander sends us beyond the Wall, but in any case, the Lord Commander's word is our law, The whole reason we're here is to keep the realm safe. Everyone is afraid on their first ranging, but it's that fear that makes you brave. You're a good lad, I see a lot of promising qualities in you, now use them on this ranging. If we die, we die brave men, and men of the Night's Watch. It doesn't matter if we agree with this or not, it's our duty, and we'll do it bravely.”  
The boy was taken aback by what Benjen had said, but he looked as if he understood the point. Benjen knew that no one here wanted to die, but it was ultimately their duty. They were there to protect Westeros from the horrors beyond the Wall, and that's what he meant to do.  
Benjen put the previous conversation out of his mind and swung himself onto his gray palfrey, the other Rangers did the same, he pushed his horse out in front of the group, Adam fell in behind him, and then the man, Benjen remembered his name to be Willem Marbrand.   
It was even hard for the large horses to move through the thick snow that lay everywhere North of the Wall. The bitter cold freezes fallen snow so that there is a hard crust on top that is even hard for a thousand pound animal to break and move through, and that means slow going. None of the men talked to each other, so Benjen let his gaze wonder over the barren and frozen landscape. It had kind of an eerie beauty to it that he had almost made himself love. Wide open fields covered in snow and surrounded by high mountains and soldier pines, it was beautiful and barren and terrifying all at once.  
Benjen would be able to see for miles here, if only the bitter wind wasn't blowing the falling snow and his coal black hair in his eyes and face. With every gust of wind, Benjen wondered what he might see when the blowing snow cleared. He thought that one of these days he would meet his end after one of these gusts of wind. Just after that thought, another, much stronger, gust of wind wound it's way around the small group as their horses fought forward. Benjen was blinded by all of the snow swirling around his face, the cold wind threatening to freeze his eyes, tangling his hair and making it cling to his face. He struggled to regain his vision as his horse reared, clearly having been spooked by something. The wind died down and the blowing snow cleared just enough for Benjen to see four figures on horses in the distance. He wheeled his panicking horse around to look at the rest of his party, Adam was still mounted, but Willem had lost his mount and stood in the deep snow, steel drawn.  
“Be ready men! There's trouble ahead!” Benjen shouted and quickly turned his horse back toward the enemy. They had crept closer, and Benjen noticed that something was not quite right about them.  
The horses they were mounted on were all skin and bones, the riders used no saddles or reigns, but gripped their horses with their half rotted and frozen legs. Aside from the horses, Benjen noticed that the beings that sat the deteriorating mounts looked eerie as well. Brittle, white hair flowed from their heads, and their eyes seemed to glow a piercing blue frost color. Their skin was as white as the snow that surrounded them, and they seemed to have a skeletal form. As the enemy crept closer and closer, Benjen could tell that his men were losing their courage. He also knew that, more likely than not, they would not be able to fight these enemies with their steel. These were the Others. The White Walkers that mothers told their children about to scare them away from the idea of joining the Night's Watch when they were old enough. Everyone thought they were just a myth, but now Benjen knew that they were real, and in this very moment, he wished that they weren't.   
He glanced back toward his men and realized that Willem had fled. Most likely heading back to the wall, or deserting the Night's Watch all together, but he wouldn't make it that far before some other horror in this frozen land claimed his life, and if he did somehow make it back, his brothers would be waiting for him, to punish him as a deserter, and that meant death. Benjen was surprised that Adam was the one that had stayed with him, but he had the feeling from the very beginning that this green boy, dressed in his furs that were black as night where Benjen's had faded gray, would be braver and stronger than half of the men that were at the Wall now. It's the youngest ones that feel like they can take on the world, and that worried Benjen.   
“Adam, my boy, this may be the last day that we draw breath,” Benjen started as he wheeled his horse around to look at the boy, “fight valiantly, fight bravely, and if you die, die with honor. Know that you're doing the right thing, guarding the people of Westeros from these horrible things, and know that, no matter the outcome of this battle, the Night's Watch will be proud.”  
“Yes, my lord.” Was Adam's only reply, and as Benjen turned his horse about to look at the enemy and charged into battle, he knew that this would be the end of his life. There's no way they'll survive fighting these things. After all, you can't kill what's already dead. As Benjen drew his sword, his heart pounded to the same pace as his mount's hooves on the snow covered ground. He thought of his brother, his nieces and nephews, and the brothers he'd made in the Night's Watch. He thought of the reason he was here, and as he reached the enemy and started his fight, he realized that his life had been worth while, and that he was not afraid to die.   
He let out a battle cry as his sword clashed with the sword of ice and snow that the Other was holding, and gasped as his own steel broke at the point of impact. His horse reared and he was thrown from it's back, and hit the ground with such impact that his teeth smashed together in his mouth and he believed he chipped a few of them, but there was no time to think about that. He quickly pulled out the only other weapon he had, a dagger strapped to his side. It sang as he pulled it from the leather sheath and pointed it toward his enemy as he struggled to go back to a standing position. As he did, he saw Adam Tully charging past him on a panicking mount. The boy met one of the other White Walkers with such fury that Benjen was sure that he could emerge victorious, but that thought was shattered as the White Walker effortlessly slashed through the boy's neck and his head fell to the ground and rolled through the snow. Benjen was saddened to see the young man die so early in his life, but there would be time for grieving later, first he had to live through the battle.  
The White Walker let out a blood curdling screech like Benjen had never heard before, and swung itself down from its mount. It slowly stalked toward an aching Benjen, he believed that the fall from his horse had done more damage than he previously thought, and when he tried to lunge toward the White Walker, he fell to his knees in excruciating pain. The White Walker strode toward Benjen and put its sword just under his chin, as if it was thinking of sparing his life. Before Benjen could even think of attacking his enemy, the White Walker sliced his skin and brought its sword of ice up to its cold, cracked lips. Its blue eyes seemed to glow even more eerily than before, as it tasted the First Ranger's blood, and Benjen's vision grew blurry and his hands began to shake. The White Walker gave one last scream as Benjen blacked out and fell into the cold, hard snow.  
When he woke up, he was partially covered by the snow that had fallen during the time he was unconscious, although he didn't know how long that had been. He was completely surprised that he hadn't frozen to death in the ice and bitter cold. He looked around to see no enemies, it was only then that he remembered his fallen brother, and started digging through the snow that surrounded him to find his body. When Benjen finally found the head and body of Adam Tully, he decided that his brave brother deserved the funeral that was fit for a man of the Night's Watch.  
Benjen gathered sticks and logs from the forest on the outskirts of the large field where his battle had taken place, and piled them in the middle next to the spot where Adam's body laid. He gathered the head and the body and laid them on top of the pyre that he had built, then lit it with a flint and steel that he carried with him at all times. As the young man's body burned, Benjen felt responsible for his death, he had picked him to go on this ranging, after all. He had told him not to be afraid of death. He stood in silence for a few moments as the body burned and then said the words customary for every funeral of a brother of the Night's Watch, “and now his watch has ended.”  
Benjen stayed for a while as the body burned on the pyre, and warmed his gloved hands by the flame. He gathered his mount as the last bits of his young brother and the pyre he burned on dwindled to ash that would be forgotten in this frozen hell, and rode toward the wall. It would be a day's ride before he would reach his home, and the safety of the Wall, and that was only if he didn't run into any more enemies. He couldn't stop for anything, not even a rest, he had to get back to warn his brothers that the fairy tale that all their mothers had told them was anything but a fairy tale.   
The sun was setting again when he finally reached the wall, and he heard the wail of the horn from atop the Wall that signaled the return of a Ranger. The great gate at the bottom opened to welcome him back inside, but as he rode toward it, he couldn't help but feel like something was wrong. As he reached the gate, his horse continued through, but as he tried to pass through, an invisible force knocked him back and swept him off the back of his mount. He plunged to the ground and immediately got up again, ignoring the slight stinging he felt in his back. He couldn't understand why he couldn't come through the gate. He tried again and was met with a searing pain as he hit an invisible wall yet again. At this point, it was clear to him what had happened. He was not human anymore, instead he was more like the White Walkers that he had clashed with in the lands beyond the wall. He realized that now he could never return to Westeros, even though he still felt like himself. He could never get through the Wall that was enchanted with ancient magic to keep things like him out. He turned to look at the frozen lands that he would have to call his home now, and his cold, black hands that were the things that prevented him from returning to his real home. At that very moment he decided that he would try and help any rangers that he ran into to kill the things that made him this way, but he could never tell them his real name, they could never see his face. He dawned the big, droopy hood that came with the faded black cloak that he was given by the Night's Watch, and strode back toward the forest that laid just outside the Wall. From this moment on, he would be known as Cold Hands, and he would do whatever he could to eradicate the evil forces that lived beyond the Wall. This was his lone purpose in life, however long his new life would last. As he walked toward the forest, he said the oath that he had taken when he joined the Night's Watch.  
“Night gathers, and now my watch begins. It shall not end until my death. I shall take no wife, hold no lands, father no children. I shall wear no crowns and win no glory. I shall live and die at my post. I am the sword in the darkness, I am the watcher on the walls, I am the fire that burns against the cold. I am the light that brings the dawn, the horn that wakes the sleepers, the shield that guards the realms of men. I pledge my life and honor to the Night's Watch for this night, and all the nights to come.” and with that, Benjen and his cold, black hands disappeared into the forest, never to return to his home again.

**Author's Note:**

> I've always had this theory that Benjen might be Coldhands, I think it may have been disproven by George R.R. Martin himself, but a girl can still dream. Anyway, here's my interpretation of how he became Coldhands.


End file.
